Definition
僵 (jiāng) refers to a body part being stiff (from cold, staying still, or after death) or a situation being deadlocked. 僵硬 (jiāng yìng) is a close synonym for physical stiffness but is slightly more formal. 硬 (yìng) means 'hard' physically or 'firm' in character, so use 僵 for stiff body parts and 硬 for hard objects.
adjective
stiffrigid (especially of body parts from cold, staying still, or after death)deadlockedat an impasse (of discussions, situations, relationships)
Easily confused
- 将jiāngsound-alike(adverb) will, be going to
- 讲jiǎngsound-aliketo speak, to tell
- 奖jiǎngsound-alike(noun) prize, award
- 酱jiàngsound-alike(noun) thick fermented paste (e.g., soybean paste, broad bean paste)
- 降jiàngsound-aliketo fall, to drop, to descend (of temperature, prices, altitude, etc.)
- 姜jiāngsound-alikeginger
- 江jiāngsound-alikeriver
- 桨jiǎngsound-alikeoar; paddle
Examples
- ，僵。Wǒ zuò de tài jiǔ le, bózi dōu jiāng le.I sat too long, and my neck is stiff.
- 僵，。Tánpàn jiāng le, shuāngfāng dōu bù kěn ràngbù.The negotiations are deadlocked; neither side is willing to compromise.
- 僵，。Tā jiāng zhe liǎn, kàn qǐlái hěn shēngqì.He kept a stiff face and looked very angry.
Browse more HSK 7-9 words or search the full 43,000-word dictionary.